Collide Part 1
by CracksInTheConcrete
Summary: Lucy Walker has been a thief since she was 8. One day, she steals from the wrong alchemist. Soon she is traveling with the Elric brothers. Too bad none of them knew how much trouble this would get the young orphan into. Eventually edxoc, AU-ish  human al
1. Character Information

Character Info

NAME: Lucy Walker

BIOGRAPHY: When Lucy was eight, the same day she discovered that she could use lightning and normal alchemy like Ed, her mother and father were murdered. She stopped talking for a year, then trained hard in martial arts until she was eleven, when she killed her parents' murderer. Shortly after, the government recognized her power and requested she become a state alchemist. She refused, and they continued to harass her. When she was fifteen, she found a small black lab puppy and adopted it. Six months later, she met Ed and Al. Thus the story begins…

GENDER: Female

AGE: 15

HEIGHT: 5'3"

WEIGHT: 108.7 lbs

BODY TYPE: Slender, but soft, much stronger than she looks

FACE TYPE: Soft-faced but capable of looking extremely vicious (think Ed, but female and with different eye color)

COMPLEXION: normal color, blushes easily when embarrassed or angry

EYES: Weird type of hazel, switch between blue and gray

HAIR: Red, bangs like Ed's but parted on the side, shoulder-blade-length

CLOTHING: Black denim mini-shorts, purple hooded tank top with white dollar-sign-like design on the front, black combat boots, necklace with chunk of translucent garnet (which is called Bloodstone) that belonged to her mother, white gloves like Roy's but with silver transmutation circles with lightning bolts instead of flames at top

SPEAKING STYLE: Hates beating around the bush but also hates silence, engages in small talk only when she has no certain point to make or it's too quiet

SKILLS: Very good in martial arts, swift runner, can do alchemy like Edward/Alphonse and can alchemize lightning

WEAPONS: Anything she creates with alchemy

THEME SONG: "Again" by YUI

you tube .com/watch?v=kBx8_1m9rn8&feature=autoplay&list=QL&index=1&playnext=35

GENERAL DEMEANOR: Seems innocent at first, then becomes mischievous, steals often, good fighter, deemed as a punk/delinquent

CAREER: No job, gets home and food paid for with left-over family fortune and helped out by government as bribe to become state alchemist

PREJUDICES: Anyone suicidal, because she knows what it's like to have your life taken away by force, and it hurts your loved ones, so if you seriously want to take your own life…

BEST QUALITIES: Loyal, trustworthy once you gain her trust, strong, staminate

WORST QUALITIES: Short-tempered, violent when angry

WEAKNESSES: Never gives up even if death is imminent, loves to steal things, has hemophobia (fear of blood), past is a touchy subject to her

HOBBIES: Writing songs, drawing

TALENTS: Pretty singing voice, good pianist


	2. Chapter 1: The Watch

Chapter One: The Watch

I shielded my eyes. The sun was blinding. It was probably the one day that the weather was only in the high seventies, and I was out enjoying it. I had finished school and was wearing my own clothes as I roamed around town, my shooulder-blade-length red hair flying around softly in the light wind.

Then I narrowed my eyes. I saw two people, one gray-eyed sandy-brunette and one shorter golden-eyed honey-blond, both wearing cloaks (the taller one's was teal, the shorter one's was red) over black leather outfits. A silver watch swung from the shorter one's pocket. I focused in on that watch.

I smiled…well, I wouldn't say _evilly_, but definitely not kindly. That watch looked really valuable, and the boy didn't look capable of catching me. He was just a little taller than I was, though this was probably because of his platform shoes. It was almost _too_ perfect. But I never passed by a chance.

I walked towards the young man as inconspicuously as I could. I took a big breath and—WHAM—I bumped into him just hard enough, so he wouldn't notice the loss of his watch.

"Hey!" he shouted sharply. "Watch where you're going!"

"You watch where _you're_ going!" I replied in the same tone. He gave me a dirty look.

I turned around and started walking away. Two seconds later, I heard just what I knew I would hear.

"Al? Where's my watch?" he said frantically, then shouted, "That girl took it!"

I grimaced and ran for it, soon followed by him and the golden-brown-haired guy.

I ran long and hard, knowing that my legs had to be stronger and faster than his. But when I looked back, he was chasing me much faster than I'd anticipated. I tightened my jaw and poured on the speed, then turned sharply around a corner. I heard the boys skid and then Blondie yelled, "Hey! Stop, you little punk!"

"'Cause that's gonna happen!" I shot back and ran even faster. I couldn't breathe anymore, but I was used to that. The burn in my lungs actually felt good. I ran behind another corner, this one separated by a single white-brick wall, and let myself slow down a little bit.

I heard a "hup!", and then suddenly, the boy was in front of me, having managed to jump straight over the wall. I stopped, took a step or two back, and turned around to see my other way blocked by the dude with darker hair.

I looked back toward the Golden Boy, sighing in defeat. He held out his hand expectantly. I started to lift the silver watch, as if I were going to give it back to him, then ran off to the side.

"Hey!" the blonde practically screamed. "Get back here!" He began to chase me again, the average-height guy chasing after him.

"Damn, you're persistent," I muttered. Clenching the watch a little more tightly in my hand. I could hear how close the two were. I went as fast as I could, hoping I could outrun them.

Then I felt something on my back, and my face was being practically pounded into the dirt.


	3. Chapter 2: Alphonse

Chapter Two: Alphonse

"Gotcha," the blond dude growled in my ear. "Now give it back."

I struggled, pushing the watch into my pocket. "Get off me, pipsqueak."

He was so close to me, I felt his face get hot. "DON'T CALL ME PIPSQUEAK!" he yelled so loudly into my ear that I thought I'd hear ringing until I was old and shriveled.

"Don't yell in my ear!" I said back.

"Then gimme back my damn watch!" He stood up and pulled me up by the arms, searching me for the silver watch.

I pulled it out of my pocket, then tossed it back into my hand and threw it as far into the woods I could. "Whoops," I shrugged.

His face contorted in rage, and he grabbed the front of my shirt. "YOU IDIOT!" he roared. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? GO FIND IT, RIGHT NOW!"

"No!" I said, slapping his hand away. "And let go of me! You've already gotten me dirty, and now you're stretching out my shirt!" I looked down at myself and moaned in despair. My favorite mint-green tank top, short-sleeved white under-top, and white mini-shorts were totally ruined. Now I'd have to get out a back-up outfit.

"So what?" he screeched. "You lost my watch!" He reached for my shirt again, this time with his right hand, and I tried to slap it away, too. But it clanged and hurt my hand.

I sucked in my breath and shrank back, clutching my hand between my knees. "Ow! God, what's wrong with you?"

He stared at me, then looked at his hand. "Oh, guess I forgot to mention that my right arm and left leg are _entirely made of metal._"

I stared at him. "Wow. I've heard of plastic surgery, but that's kinda crazy."

"It wasn't my choice!" he barked. "And anyway, I _really_ need my watch." He turned to the other guy. "You watch her, Al. I'm not finished with her yet." And he walked into the woods.

The sandy-haired guy nodded, then turned to me. "Um, I guess you can't go anywhere," he said in a young voice. I figured he was, what, fourteen at best? Then he leaned closer and whispered, "Don't worry about Ed. He's just a little sensitive about his height."

I said nothing. I thought about making a break for it, but I didn't have the watch, and I wasn't scared of the little blonde. Plus, this other dude could probably pound me in a heartbeat, since Blondie had been able to do what he had done despite being several inches shorter than this guy.

I sank against the wall into a sitting position. "So, your name's Al, right?" I said.

He looked at me. "Yeah, Alphonse. What's your name?"

I ignored the question. "Do you think you could take me home, Alphonse?"

He stared at me still. "Um, home?"

"Yeah, I look like a total mess. That shrimp completely jacked up my clothes."

"Don't call me a shrimp!" the blonde dude's voice rang out from the trees.

Alphonse stared in the direction the voice had come from. "Uh, I don't think Edward would be very happy with that." So, Blondie's name was Edward.

I waved a hand. "I'm not scared of him. He'd be shorter than me if he took off those platform shoes. And I think he'll be in there awhile."

He sighed. "I guess you're right. And you _could_ use some better clothes." After a moment's hesitation, he stood. "Fine, where do you live?"

I grinned in victory. "I'll show you the way to my house." I started walking, and he followed me.


	4. Chapter 3: Amaya

Chapter Three: Amaya

"Well, this is it," I said, looking up at my home. It was a nice place, moderate sized, painted light blue with white shutters on the windows. I took a deep breath and went inside, taking off my shoes and hanging up my backpack. "I'm home!" I called, stomping my feet on the floor to make a lot of noise.

From above, there was a tiny thump, a scramble of claws on the floor, and a combo of both down the stairs. A tiny black puppy ran towards me. I couldn't help but laugh as the puppy yipped and jumped up at my dirty legs. I picked her up. The black lab proceeded to say hello with a tiny warm tongue.

Laughing, I petted the dog's back like a human woman would rub her baby, which the dog was like to me. "Hello to you, too, Amaya." I stroked her back and planted a tiny kiss on her forehead to be rewarded by more of that pink tongue.

"It's good to be back home, girl." I gave the puppy one last scratch behind the ears, then turned to Al. "Alphonse, this is my puppy Amaya. Her name means 'night rain'. I named her that because her fur is dark like night and her eyes are blue like water." Then I shook my head. "Why am I saying this? You're practically holding me hostage." I set Amaya down and went upstairs into my room.

I opened the closet and pulled out some clothes, then proceeded to put them on. I now wore a pair of black mini-shorts exactly like my now-dirty white ones and searched for a shirt. I pulled on a purple tank top with a hood and white desogn on the front. Then I pulled off my muddy brown penny-loafers and laced up my favorite black combat boots.

Finally, I went back down to see Al playing with Amaya. I smiled at them. Al was much taller than I was, and he looked extremely awkward next to the warm, cuddly little pup. It was cute in its own special way.

Al looked up at me when I laughed. "Oh, hi. I think your dog likes me."

"She likes everyone," I explained. "Even the enemy." I descended the stairs and picked her up. She gave a short, quick whine, then licked my cheek again.

I turned her so she faced me. "Okay, girl, I'll be back in a few more minutes, all right? Then we can go for our walk." Amaya whimpered again, but stayed still when I set her down on the steps.

As Al and I said goodbye to her and exited the house, we heard an enraged sound coming from the white wall. "Oh, no," Al said. "Brother knows we're gone."

"Then we should probably get going," I said, and we began to run toward the wall.

Edward glared at us as we neared. "Al!" he shouted. "Where did you go? I told you to watch her!"

Alphonse put his hands up defensively. "Sorry, brother. She was dirty from you tackling her into the dirt, so I took her home to put on some fresh clothes, then I brought her right back here."

Ed turned his gaze on me, inspecting my outfit, then sighed. "Whatever." Then he came closer and jabbed a finger at my chest. "And _you_…why'd you take my watch?"

"Because I felt like it," I said simply, effectively pissing him off further.

He pushed his face right up against mine. "I mean it. I hate it when people touch my watch."

"Well, don't you have problems." I didn't have time for this. It also annoyed me. Here was this kid who was probably even smaller than I was, and he was trying to act all tough. It got on my nerves.

"Really, Ed," Alphonse cut in, "just let her go, already. She has to get back to her dog." Then his voice changed and he turned to me. "Wait. Do your parents work late or something? They weren't home, and there was no car in the driveway."

I looked down. "Uh, can I go now?" Al's comment had made me think of my parents, and I _really_ didn't want to break down and get weak in front of that Edward kid.

"Please, Ed," Alphonse begged. "Let her get home so her parents don't get mad at her." there was the 'p' word again. I bit my lip.

"Why should I?" Edward sneered. "She's just some punk kid who stole my watch, and I want payback."

I felt a tear slip down my face, and I flipped my bangs into my eyes to hide it. "Please, let me go home."

He looked at me in surprise, whether to the tear or the fact that I said "please" I didn't know. "Um, hold on..."

I ignored him and ran off, trying not to cry. All I wanted was to get out of there. I couldn't stand being so close to those jerks.

But, there was something about those boys, something strange…there was some sort of aura of an otherworldly power about them, and not the same kind of aura as alchemy gave off, although I sensed that, too. They were…

Then it hit me. But…it couldn't be?

Yes. They gave off that aura…they had been to the other side of the Gate!

I made up my mind right then and there that I would find those boys again once I had pulled myself together and speak to them about the Gate. Maybe they had information I could use. Maybe they even knew how I could bring my parents back!


	5. Chapter 4: Momiji

Chapter Four: Momiji

"Calm down, girl," I said, trying hard not to laugh. I was out walking Amaya, and she was excited at having found another stray puppy, this one a golden lab only about her size, and the two were barking and jumping at each other. They'd managed to get themselves stuck into some position with their paws on each others' shoulders so it looked like they were hugging. Amaya was whining, trying to get herself free and failing. Like it was so hard to take your paws off of another dog's shoulders.

I bent down and helped them to untangle, then inspected the new puppy. It was a male, blond-furred, but caked with mud so thickly that you could hardly tell. He was a timid puppy, too, at least when it came to people. But he'd taken to Amaya really well.

I reached for him. He shrank back, gazing up at me with his amber eyes. Amaya went over and began nosing the male puppy.

When he was distracted, I snatched him up, scooping Amaya into the other arm. The blond puppy didn't try to struggle, just hung limply under my arm as I walked home with the two pups. When I got home, I gave the golden dog a near-brutal bath to rid him of the mud, then checked his skin for fleas. He didn't have any.

I looked at the pup. I had only thought about cleaning him up at first, but now that he was clean, he seemed to trust me. He wagged his tail at me whenever I smiled, and he really got along well with Amaya. So I couldn't just separate them.

"Hmm," I mused, "You need a name." He blinked his red-gold eyes as though he understand, and cocked his head to the side. He seemed to be saying, "Well, I'm all ears for suggestions."

I looked at him long and hard, trying to think of something he reminded me of. Amaya had reminded me of nighttime, with her black fur glistening like stars, and her eyes were blue like rain. But all I got when I looked at the male was a fresh hint of autumn.

"That's it!" I grinned. The dog's ears perked straight up.

I picked him up just under the front legs and rubbed my nose to his. "Momiji," I said. "Your name is Momiji." Momiji meant 'autumn colors', or at least had some faint meaning of that, and his eyes looked exactly like the prettiest maple leaf in the fall.

Momiji wiggled, the very tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth. I laughed. He looked incredibly silly.

Then there was a knock at the door. Momiji looked curious while Amaya got rather excited.

I put Momiji down. "Who is it?" I said to myself as I walked over to the door. When I opened it, I saw _them_. The two guys from the day before.


	6. Chapter 5: Fullmetal Alchemist

Chapter Five: Fullmetal Alchemist

Edward didn't waste any time. "Let us in," he said, pushing past me. "We gotta talk."

"Hey!" I cried, turning to glare at him as he just waltzed right into my home without permission. Alphonse came in behind him, also not granted permission, and the two went into my living room. Edward flung himself down into my favorite chair, making himself right at home.

"Um, excuse me, but what are you doing in my house?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. I was fuming.

"We have a few things we gotta talk to you about," Edward said, then—ew—_he __put his feet on my coffee table_.

"Get your feet off my table, short stack," I growled menacingly, giving him the most deadly glare I could manage.

He scowled right back, but apparently decided not to murder me over calling him short. "Okay, we're being serious here."

"If this is about your damn watch-"

"It isn't," Alphonse cut me off. "It's…"

"Um…" Ed looked at Al. "We were wanting to ask you about…We wanted to know…man, now I don't know how to say it."

"Do you know what the Gate is?" Al stepped in for him.

"Yes," I answered.

"Have you ever actually been _through_ it?"

I looked at him. "You know, I was going to ask you two the same question."

"Why?" he said in response.

"Uh, no real reason. I just sort of sensed that you're familiar with it, so I was wanting to track you down and ask you."

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other. "Well, then, I guess we really don't have much more to say to each other," Ed said, standing up. All followed suit. "We'll be leaving now."

"Wait," said Alphonse, looking back at me as he grabbed his brother's sleeve.

Ed looked back at him. "What is it, Al?"

Al turned to me. "Um, what's your name?"

"L-Lucy," I replied, confused.

"Do your parents work on Saturdays, too, Lucy?"

I felt my mouth open, then I looked down. "Um, yeah," I lied. "They work every day. I hate it when they have to go to work. I was—am really attached to them."

Ed looked at me in obvious disbelief. "Where do they work?" he questioned.

"M-military," I stammered, starting to fiddle with my hair. It was a habit. "They're, um, State Alchemists." It wasn't exactly a lie—my parents _had_ been State Alchemists. When they'd been alive, that is.

"Then what are their titles?" Ed was cracking straight through my lie, and we both knew it.

I thought long and hard. "Um, well, my dad's the famous Fullmetal Alchemist." I looked into his eyes, trying to look very proud and hoping to see him very impressed. Instead he looked incredibly angry and sad at the same time.

"That's a lie," he said quietly.

"No, it's not," I defended. "What makes you say it's a lie?"

He squared his shoulders, then removed his red cloak and black leather jacket, revealing his right arm, which was made completely out of metal. Automail. He looked at me almost menacingly but still sympathetic, as though he knew about my parents, and said, "_I'm_ the Fullmetal Alchemist."

My jaw dropped. I'd heard of the Fullmetal Alchemist, but never had I heard that he was just a kid. Well, sixteen. But whatever. I'd always figured he was in his thirties or forties, not his teens.

"And," he added, "even if I wasn't Fullmetal, you're a bad liar, so I still would have known"

I looked down again. Wow. I was impressed. I mean, standing right here in front of me was _the_ Fullmetal Alchemist, and…

…and I had tried to steal his identity. I felt ashamed.

He put his black jacket back on. "You don't _have_ any parents, do you?"

I touched my bare arm. "Yes, I do. They're working. I told you…" My voice broke. I couldn't do this again. I'd probably wind up saying my mom was someone he knew, and he obviously had me figured out.

I turned away. "Just go away. Leave me alone."

Al came a few steps closer. "Lucy…" He put his hand on my shoulder.

I slapped it away. "No! I said to leave me alone! Get _out_ of my _house_!" I threw a pillow at them from the couch and ran into my bedroom, which was across from the guest room I never needed.


	7. Chapter 6: A Song Of Storm And Fire

**A/N: Yes, I admit I got this song from "Tsubasa Chronicles." I am not taking any credit for the song, I just thought it was beautiful and became recently obsessed with it, and I REALLY wanted this scene in here, so I used the song. Again, I DO NOT claim ownership of the song. **

**Enjoy, and try not to cry like I did when writing this chapter :'(**

Chapter Six: A Song of Storm and Fire

_I will not cry,_ I told myself. _I will not cry…_ I calmed down and walked over to the small white piano, waiting until I heard the front door close to begin playing. Then I took a deep, shuddering breath, and started to sing.

"_Kire kagima saibastia_

_Kiweta i adora i_

_Amena i adesta _

_Idela_

_Asora i adora i_

_Asora i yamasa_

_Idita dora_

_Kasa melistora_

_Imeta ili aora_

_I kasa melindora_

_Ilyia iya_

_Kasa melistora_

_Imeta ili aora_

_I kasa melindora_

_Ilyia_

_Kire kagima saibastia_

_Inaria miamenta_

_Asora ita saibastia_

_Imilia iyasii iya_

_Kiweta ita saibastia_

_Inaria miamenta_

_Asora ita saibastia_

_Imilia iyasii_

_Kasa melistora_

_Imeta i aora_

_I kasa melistora _

_Ilyia_..."

I trailed off in the same fashion as the single tear that trailed down my cheek. I had written the music for this song a long time ago for my parents, and then created lyrics from a secret language we'd made up for when we didn't want someone else to understand us. It meant, "Your wistful face, soft and sweet and gentle and so very fragile. Seeing it - I can't describe what I'm seeing -it's too beautiful for words. Waiting faithfully and smiling so peacefully and waiting patiently, quietly wishing. Waiting faithfully and smiling so peacefully, and waiting patiently, quietly. Your wistful face smiles in the mist. I see that face and I wish for an impossible wish. That soft face smiles in the mist. I see that face and I wish for the impossible wish. Waiting faithfully and smiling so peacefully. Waiting faithfully, and waiting patiently. I wish."

I missed my parents. There was no doubt whatsoever about that. Even though my mother had never been home and my father had always been strict, they had been the brightest stars in my life. And then they lost _their_ lives over mine. It wasn't fair. They had been the ones who had given me life, and then they had lost their lives over mine.

I wiped away the tear and sang the song again, just because it was the most beautiful song I had ever heard. As I played, I could almost hear my parents singing in the background, could hear my father's drums and my mother's violin. The song became an orchestral/choral presentation just for me right there in my bedroom, and I closed my eyes and began to play without looking. I had never been able to do that before. But something filled me inside. Soon I stopped playing altogether and started to dance around my room, still singing at the top of my lungs.

Soon, I opened my eyes, and I could actually see my mom and dad standing right there in my room with me. Nobody was playing music or singing anymore, just dancing, but I could still hear violin, drums, guitar, voices…the music was still playing in my heart.

I smiled as I looked at my parents, then began to cry silently. My mother smiled at me and pulled me into an embrace, her arms feeling solid. My father rubbed my head, close enough to me and Mom that I could smell his peppermint hand lotion. I wrapped my arms around my mother, and it was as if they had never left.

"I love you, Mom," I said shakily. "I love you, Dad."

Mom and Dad both held me. "We love you, too, Lucy." I laid down on my bed, and my parents laid on either side of me.

I fell asleep nestled between them.


	8. Chapter 7: Going On A Trip

Chapter Seven: Going On A Trip

When I woke up, facing the window with my back to the door, it was dark outside, and my parents were gone. I almost started crying _again_ remembering how real it had felt when I had sang their song. Then I heard something else. Voices right behind me. Two of them. But not my parents' voices.

Edward and Alphonse were in my room.

"We can't just leave her here, Ed," Alphonse whispered.

"I know," Edward answered in a quiet voice. "But what do you expect her to think, waking up and finding us here again after she specifically told us to leave her alone? And to think that we're in her bedroom when she's asleep…is this not sounding a little stalkerish?"

"But you heard her. You saw her face. Remember she was acting weird when I first asked her back at the forest? And now she tried to pretend her dad was you. There's no way her parents are still around."

"Al, I realize we can't just leave and never come back, but what are we supposed to say to the girl? 'Hey, we know your parents are dead, so why don't you just come travel around with us and we'll have a swell old time!'? I mean, our mom's dead too, and you don't see anyone cryin' over it. How much help have we gotten?"

"Just because nobody helped us doesn't mean we should just ignore the poor girl."

"I'm just saying it's a cruel world, and there are cruel people in it."

"That doesn't mean we have to be some of those people."

"For God's sake, Al, we can't!" Edward almost shouted, then froze as I jumped. He turned to me. I narrowed my eyes to the tiniest of slits and turned toward them, pretending I was still asleep.

Ed sighed, then turned back to Alphonse. "We can't," he said in a more gentle tone. "We don't know the girl, and we face a lot of danger. Besides, who knows what Mustang would say when he saw her." He shuddered, his breath shaking.

"Ed." Al was giving him puppy-dog eyes that were so convincing they would have even made my dad give in. If he were still alive.

I saw Ed flinch, and I guessed he had made the supreme mistake of looking at Al. He visibly fought his own emotions, then sighed. "Fine. But I'm not gonna be in here when you tell her." He brushed past Al and out the door, which I guessed was the cue to wake me up.

Al sighed, too, then looked at me. I squirmed a little bit, trying to make myself as cute as possible even though I knew cute for me _wasn't_ possible. I didn't even know why I wanted to look cute. I just…did.

Al reached a shaking hand over to me, as if now questioning himself too, and then out his hand lightly on my shoulder. He shook me very gently. "Um, lucy?"

I opened my eyes all the way. "You know I've been awake for, like, three minutes," I told him.

His eyes widened. "So, you heard what me and Ed were saying?"

"Yeah."

"From what point?"

"Something like, 'We can't leave her here, but we're being stalkers' or something. And by the way, yes, going into a teenage girl's room while she's asleep is kind of pervert-slash-stalkerish."

"So, then, you heard about the 'going with us' stuff, then, too."

"Yeah."

"Good. I don't have to explain it to you then."

"And, Al, quick question?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, why are you and Edward inside of my house, let alone my _bedroom_, at two o'clock in the morning?"

"Oh. Um, I sort of figured it out about your parents, and I managed to convince Ed to come over here with me, but he kind of chickened out when we actually got here to do it." He leaned a little closer and whispered, "I think he's afraid of what happens to guys when teenage girls find them in their rooms watching them sleep."

I chuckled. "Yeah. Just let me get some shoes on, okay? Then I'll be right there." He nodded and left, and I tugged on my combat boots. Then, figuring I probably wouldn't be home for a long time, I also pulled on my favorite black leather jacket. Then my parents entered my mind again.

I sighed as the excitement sort of left me. I was getting to go on some sort of adventure, but I had totally forgotten my promise to my parents' bodies. "I promise," I had said through my tears as my best friend Amberline covered her mouth to keep from throwing up. "I promise to look over the house forever. I'll always be here to make sure nobody touches it."

I choked back a few tears and plunged my hand into my pillowcase, taking out the necklace—a translucent Bloodstone on a silky black cord. My mother's necklace. I fastened it around my neck, then straightened up, took a deep breath, turned on the light, and inspected my image in the mirror. The necklace brought out the red highlights in my hair, and it made my sometimes-blue-sometimes-gray eyes pop out, no matter what color they were, which at that exact moment happened to be a clouded ocean hue.

I grabbed the locked box I kept a couple hundred thousand sens in, and walked out into the living room, where the Elric brothers were waiting.

Edward stared at me as I came out. "So, I guess Al explained everything to you?"

"Actu—" Al began, but I cut him off.

"Yeah. Yeah, he explained it all." I didn't want Ed knowing I had been awake. I didn't have any idea why, I just didn't.

He nodded. "Alright, then. Let's get going." He turned and started walking, and Al gave me a strange look as he followed him. I just shook my head and trailed after them, shivering despite my heavy leather jacket as we stepped out into a cold rain.

"Of course it's going to be raining," Ed grumbled. "Why wouldn't it?"

"Hoods up, guys," said Al, putting up his own hood. "I don't think we should get wet."

I stood there, not moving, even though the two boys were pretty far ahead of me now. The rain…it brought back some sense of déjà vu. I just couldn't remember what it was that I was remembering.

"Hey!" Ed shouted. "Hurry up, you!"

"S-sorry!" I called, hurrying to get down all the steps. Of course, being clumsy and wet, I fell at the bottom step. I tried to catch myself on my other foot, and it twisted completely sideways. I cried out and fell into the wet grass.

"Lucy!" Al ran over to me, Ed close behind.

"I'm fine," I said. "I just twisted my ankle. It happens all the time." That wasn't a lie-I did twist my ankle a lot, running from my thieving victims. I attempted to stand up, and immediately sucked in a breath when I tried to put pressure on my injured ankle. No, I was not fine.

I forced a smile. "It's no big deal, really," I tried to assure them. "It really does happen a lot. Y'know, running from people I steal from and all. I'll be okay, honestly." Ed and Al shared a look, then started walking again. I did my best to follow them, and did pretty well at first. Then I began to lag behind.

Then Ed seemed to notice that I was falling behind, a limp interfering with my movements. I was trying to keep up, but I knew I had a painful look in my eyes, which were also probably gray again. He stopped suddenly, and Al did as well.

Ed walked up to me, a cold gleam coming to his eyes. Bewildered, I began to speak. "What? What did I do now?"

Ed sighed. "Come on," he said, then grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him, sliding me up his slender back. I blushed deeply and wrapped my arms around his neck, hoping I wouldn't fall off his back. Ed slid his hands under my knees and held them there so he could get a better grip on me.

I gently leaned my head against Ed's neck and head and listened to him mumble to himself about what Mustang would say. The words weren't very kind, but his voice was nice. It echoed in my ears like a lullaby. Then I closed my eyes as I drifted into a nice quiet sleep.


	9. Chapter 8: Mustang and Thunder

Chapter Eight: Mustang and Thunder

"Hey, wake up," Ed said sharply over his shoulder. "We're here." I noticed that it had stopped raining—obviously some time ago, too, since we were all dry.

I opened my eyes. "Where?" I asked drowsily.

"At Central."

I almost jumped off of his back, but, for the sake of my foot, settled for tensing up. "What?" I said in a low, now-alert voice. "Central? Like, the military? And state alchemists?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?" Al asked me, sensing the distressed tone in my voice.

"Um, I can't go to Central," I told them.

"Why not?" Edward demanded.

I shook my head. "I just can't."

"That's not an answer."

"Could you please just leave me on a bench outside or something?"

"Lucy," Alphonse said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "tell us why you can't go there."

I sighed as if in defeat, trying to make something up. I drew a blank, so I gave them a half-truth. "It's because of something that happened when I was eleven. They kept bothering me after it happened. If they see me, I'll never be at peace again." Nothing I'd said was a lie; I just hadn't told them everything.

Ed looked at Al, then set me down on a bench. I could tell he wasn't satisfied with the answer I'd given them, but he would drop it. At least for now.

I expected him to start walking off, but he slid off his red cloak. "Put this on," he said, handing me the cloak. "If you put the hood up, then maybe nobody will see your face." I gave him a grateful glance, then slid my arms into the jacket and pulled the hood forward as far as it would go, so it covered my eyes.

"All right." Ed picked me back up, then walked into the building that loomed ahead of us.

"Hey, Ed!" people greeted as Al opened the door for us. "Hiya, Al!" Ed and Al nodded to them, and I buried my face into Ed's neck so nobody would have the chance to recognize me. I didn't know any of these people right off the bat, but I didn't want to take any chances.

We finally reached a large door. Ed looked at it for a few seconds, musing, then kicked it open with a loud BAM! I winced at the noise and shifted my head just enough so I could see where we were. It was an office with a man sitting at a desk. The man had black hair that hung almost into his matching eyes, and wore a blue military uniform jacket. He didn't bother to look up at the noise Ed had made.

"Yo, Ponyboy," Ed said, also not bothering to look at the man.

"Hello, Colonel," Alphonse said politely.

"Hello, Fullmetal, Halfmetal," the man said, still not looking at us.

"Al, give him the reports," Ed said. Al nodded and pulled two manila folders out of his bag, then set them on the man's desk. The man finally looked away from the papers on his desk, and he immediately saw me.

I turned my face away, hoping he hadn't seen me, or at least hadn't recognized me if he had. The last thing I needed was for him to realize who I was.

"Who's your friend, Edward?" the black-haired man inquired.

"Liss," I whispered to Ed. If this man was the colonel, then he _definitely_ couldn't know my name.

"Sorry," Ed said, not questioning me for a second. This is Liss. Liss, this is Colonel Roy Mustang."

"Pleasure to meet you, Liss," Mustang said, nodding to me. I wiggled a few fingers, then put them back in place around Ed's neck. He gagged a bit, and I loosened my grip, muttering an apology.

"So, where you sending us next, Roy?" Ed asked.

"Why don't you set your friend down, Fullmetal? You look like your arms are getting tired."

Ed nodded gratefully and swung me around to the front side of his body, lowering me onto a couch. I drew his cloak tighter around me, pulling the hood further down over my face.

"Alright, Fullmetal," Mustang began, picking up a paper. "Here's a list of missions I'd like you and Halfmetal to complete. But would you leave me and your friend Liss alone for just a minute, please?"

Ed and Al shared a glance. "Uh, sure," Ed said cautiously, then led Al out of the room.

As soon as the door shut, Mustang gave me a look that kind of scared me. "You're wearing your mother's necklace, _Lucy_," he said.

My heart sank. Of course I hadn't fooled him for a minute. "At least leave me alone while I'm with Ed and Al," I said through my teeth, lowering the hood so he could see how death-like the glare that I was giving him was.

I swear he almost chuckled at my malicious eyes. Then he sighed, running a hand through his night-colored hair. "Why won't you accept our offer?"

"Because." I crossed my arms over my chest. "I don't want to."

"Have you even read the letters?"

"Letters. So it was you who sent them." I hadn't opened any of them, and the envelopes didn't say especially _who_ they were from, they just said they were from the military.

He sighed again. "That's a no. I signed my name at the bottom of each letter."

"Well, when I saw 'Central' in the return address, I automatically knew I didn't want to know what it said."

"Well, what it said was that all state alchemists will receive protection from the military—"

"The military already protects me," I cut him off. "You send me money even though I don't need it, and food, and I see those people you always have following me around, 'watching over me.' Sorry, but your 'protection' sounds more like 'stalking' to me." I stood up, wincing at the pain in my ankle, and put the hood back on. "If that's all, I'm leaving." I limped toward the door.

"Please at least consider it, Thunder."

I stopped cold and turned toward him, my eyes most likely icy blue by now. "Don't…call…me…Thunder," I ground out. "I told you, I'm not doing it. I know not all state alchemists get killed, but both of the ones I knew did, and there's no way I'm going to accept some stupid title and bend over backwards so that some guy in a blue jacket can be happy." Then I wobbled over to him.

I put my hands on the desk and leaned down until I was only an inch or so from his face. "Stop bothering me," I said in a scary voice, low and dangerous. "If you send me one more of those stupid letters, or harass me one more time in any way about becoming a state alchemist, then I will come back to this very spot and show _you_ what it's like to lose something more precious than your own life." Then I turned, ignoring the pain that shot up my leg, and stalked out of the room.

Edward and Alphonse were standing right by the door as I came out, and I could tell from their expressions that they had heard every word.

I sighed. "You were listening?"

"Well, Roy's kind of a flirt, so we were making sure he wasn't…" Ed trailed off. "Is that why you couldn't show your face?" I knew he didn't mean the thing he'd said about Roy.

"Yeah." I pulled the hood further. "So we should get going, right? He gave you an entire list of missions to complete."

Al continued to stare at me. "Your eyes are blue," he said. "I could have sworn they were gray when we first met, and when we were talking at your house."

I rubbed a hand over them, trying to calm down. "Yeah. They change colors between gray and blue, in different shades. It normally depends on my mood, so everybody finds me really easy to read. I'm like an open book."

Ed laced his fingers together behind his head. "Well, we're not gonna get those missions done hanging around here. We should get going." He started walking, me and Al on either side of him. I pretended not to notice the pain in my ankle, but it was definitely still there. I also pretended not to notice how Ed kept giving me these sideways glances. But, just like the pain, they were still there, too


	10. Chapter 9: Food

Chapter Nine: Food

"Okay, which one do you wanna do first?" Ed said, turning the mission list towards Al.

Al took the list and scanned it. "Well, we should figure out what order to do them in. Do we start from the top, or the bottom, or do we go most-to-least-important, or just pick them randomly—" He stopped talking as I snatched the list out of his hands.

"Hey!" Ed shouted. "What are you doing?"

"If I'm coming with you, then I want to know what I'm going to be up against," I shot back, also scanning the list. I saw stuff about Homunculi, someone named Scar, and things from all kinds of town names. I didn't recognize any of the things I was looking at.

"Gimme that," Ed growled, snatching the list from me in the same fashion I had grabbed it from Al. Except that Al had been wearing gloves that covered his hands, and I didn't wear my gloves at all unless I was fighting.

"Ow!" I cried, pulling my hand back. "You just gave me a paper cut, you idiot!" I looked at the slice on my hand, licking it and then blowing on it to stop the dull sting.

Ed stared at me, then came closer. "Let me see," he said, grabbing my injured hand and pulling it towards him. A few drops of blood leaked out of the sliced skin.

After a few moments, he turned to Al. "Al, you got a bandage or something?" Al nodded and handed him a roll of white strips.

"Hey," I said, trying to take my hand back. "It's just a paper cut. Look, it's barely even bleeding—"

"So you won't accept treatment, either?" Ed snapped, referring to my earlier conversation with the Colonel. I froze, then shut my mouth.

Sighing, Ed pulled a couple of feet from the roll and cut it off, then began to expertly wrap it around my hand. I sat still, not really willing to try to stop him anymore. After all, I'd let him carry me when my ankle hurt, so why not let him wrap up my hand when it bled?

"There," he said, taping the edge of the bandage down. "That should do it." Then he turned back to the list. "Okay, so, anyone have any suggestions?"

I looked at the list over his shoulder. "Um, there's one there about a gang that's causing trouble," I said, pointing to an item somewhere towards the top.

He snorted. "You really want to take care of those lamers? Why not go after Scar?"

"Because I'm _familiar_ with that gang. And because it seems like the easiest one. I always knock out the easiest stuff first."

"Well, you certainly have a weird strategy. And how are you familiar with the gang?"

"Because they're a gang of false alchemists that—" I stopped. They were _that_ man's gang. The man who had killed my parents. "Well," I continued, "they're a gang of fake alchemists. What else do you really need to know to actually know them?"

"Well, I've never heard of them, even though I'm in the military," Ed said, "but I guess you do have a point. Fine, whatever. Let's just hurry this job up." He glanced at the mission again. "Besides, it's in Risembool, and I'll probably get my automail kinda busted up when we fight them."

"Brother, when are you going to get your original body back?" Al asked quietly. I don't think I was supposed to hear, so I pretended I didn't.

"Whenever we find another stone," Ed hissed back, glancing at me to make sure I wasn't listening. I pretended not to be, but I glanced over at him as soon as I felt him look away. Original body? Did they mean his arm and his leg? And what stone? They couldn't possible mean…I tried not to play with my hair like I always did when I was nervous or deep in thought. Did they mean the Philosopher's Stone? The only thing that could bring my parents back? There was no way I was going to let them take it. Ed was missing just an arm and a leg, which he made up for anyway with his automail. I was missing two people, the only two people I'd ever trusted fully. My need was definitely greater than his.

"lucy," Ed turned to me, "have you ever been to Risembool?"

"No," I replied. "Never."

"Well, I guess it's your lucky day, 'cuz that's where this gang you know is at. We probably should get started—' he stopped speaking as a strange noise sounded through the group. We all looked around. Then I realized it was my stomach.

I blushed, putting a hand to my stomach as it growled again. "Sorry," I said to the two pairs of eyes staring at me. "I didn't eat before I fell asleep last night, so I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday."

"Okay, then, I guess we'll get started _after_ we get something to eat," Ed sighed, then started counting money.

"Oh, that's okay,' I said, reaching into one of the pockets inside of my leather jacket. "I've got enough." I pulled out a few bills and showed them to them.

"Hey!" Ed exclaimed, grabbing the money from me. "Where'd you get all this?"

"I've had it," I said, surprised. I'd only pulled out about a hundred bucks. Why was he getting so excited? "I've got more," I said, taking the money back.

"Where'd you get all that money?" Al asked, staring at my pocket.

"Mustang," I said. "It's some of the cash he sent me. He sends me money and stuff a lot, and I saved up all the money he ever sent me and used what my parents left behind."

"Why would Mustang send you money?" Al asked while Ed's eyes sparkled.

"I don't know. A bribe to join the military? Who knows?" I shrugged.

"Yeah," Ed added. "With Mustang, there's no way to tell." He laced his hands behind his head. "Anyway, yeah. Where you guys wanna eat?"

Al and I looked around, checking out all the restaurants. "There!" I exclaimed, pointing at a place. "I haven't had pasta in forever!"

"You're buying!" Ed shouted as he ran off toward the restaurant I'd chosen.

"I already knew that!" I yelled, racing after him.

"Wait for me!" Al hollered, way behind us.


	11. Chapter 10: Destiny?

Chapter Ten: Destiny…?

"That was good," I said, putting down my fork

"Yeah," Ed agreed, wiping his mouth with his napkin, which he'd _seriously_ needed.

"Yes, it _is_," Al said pointedly, twirling some noodles onto his fork. His plate was still almost full.

"Wow, you eat slowly," I said, looking at his plate in disbelief.

"No, you just eat too fast," Al pointed out, chewing his food very slowly. Or, since I did have a pretty fantastic appetite, I guess he was eating at a _normal_ speed.

I blushed a little. "Um, I love food."

"So do I," Ed shrugged. "There's no reason to be shy about it."

"Except I'm a girl, and girls aren't supposed to eat very much or anything."

"Eh, I know a girl who can shoot anything _and_ scare the living daylights out of Mustang, and there's this other girl who always attacks me with a wrench every time I see her. Besides, we met because you stole my watch, so it's not like I have the same opinion of you that I have of most girls in the first place."

"Oh." I sat back a little. "Well, either way, that was really tasty. You wanna take yours to go, Al? Or you just wanna sit here and finish?"

"Well, I would like to stay here, but I know you two will probably wind up buying more food if I do, so I guess I'll grab it."

"Okay, then we'll get a box." I raised my hand for the waiter, who brought Al a to-go box and handed me the check.

I groaned as I gave him the money. "You and I eat too much, Ed," I complained as I handed the bill to the waiter. Then we left.

"So, when do we get to Risembool?" I asked as we exited the restaurant, Al still eating his pasta-in-a-box.

"It depends," Ed said. "It'll take less time to take a train, but it'll also cost more money that way."

"Ah." I checked my pocket. "Well, I still got plenty of money, and surely we could go back and pick up some more if we started to run out."

"And we're pretty used to getting by without much cash," Al said around a mouthful of pasta. "So even if we couldn't get there immediately, we'd still manage."

"Okay, then," Ed said, "train it is!"

"Yeah!" I said, secretly hoping I wouldn't throw up. I'd definitely have to pull an all-nighter the night before the trip so I could sleep on the train.

Ed looked at me sideways again before saying timidly, "Lucy?"

"Yeah?" I turned off my fake rejoicing and turned to look at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing much, I just started thinking. We just met a couple of days ago, right? And the reason we met was because you stole my flipping watch."

"Yeah, sorry about that…" I rubbed the back of my head.

"But now we're all getting along just fine."

"And…?" I raised my eyebrows. Was he going somewhere with this?

"It just all seems really strange to me. We barely know each other, and yet we're all already traveling together and talking like we've known each other our whole lives…" He tilted his head toward the sky. "It's like there's something more to it than just the thief and the military dogs."

I shifted, kind of uncomfortable with the direction this was going. "Yeah, kind of."

He looked at me again, noticing my awkward expression. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just thinking about it, 'cuz we're suddenly all buddy-buddy, and it seemed kind of weird to me."

"Oh." Some of the awkwardness dropped out of the atmosphere. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It is a little strange."

"Maybe there is such thing as destiny…" He trailed off.

"Maybe…" I stopped talking, too, and looked up at the clouds, too. The sun was hidden behind one, so I didn't mysteriously go blind.

One of the clouds looked kind of like Ed…..


	12. Chapter 11: Jewelry and Shrimps

Chapter Twelve: Jewelry and Shrimps

"Last call for Risembool!" the conductor yelled as we neared the train. "Alllllllllll aboard!"

"Crap!" Ed yelled, running as fast as possible to make it before the train left us. Al and I sped up too, and the three of us barely made it on before the man shut the doors.

"Whew!" I exhaled as I flopped down into the seat beside Ed. "That was almost faster than I ran when I was trying to get away from you!"

Al clutched his side. "I almost miss my old body," he joked. Ed smirked, and I stared blankly.

"Old body?" I asked.

Ed and Al both stared at me. "Oh yeah," Ed said, almost nonchalantly. "You didn't know him back then."

"Back when?"

"Some other time." Ed waved a hand, signaling the end of the conversation.

I shut my mouth, but my eyes narrowed almost of their own accord. I would find out what they were talking about. It was not in my nature to let things go so easily.

Then I realized my eyes weren't narrowed. They were half-shut. I was tired. Good. That meant that my plan had worked. Except…

I moaned. "Damn it."

"What?" Ed asked.

"I stayed up all night last night so I could sleep on the train, but I completely forgot that I wouldn't have any room _to_ sleep." I rubbed my eyes. I'd just stay awake, then.

Ed sighed. "I'll move over to Al's seat, I guess. You can stay here. You should have enough room to lie down if I move." He got up and crossed over to Al's side, and I nodded thankfully, resting my head on the arm of the seat. It was comfortable enough. I was a small person, too, so I fit just fine. Except I was cold.

My eyes widened. My coat! I'd left it at the train station!

"I...can we go shopping real quick when we get off?" I croaked. "I left my jacket at the train station."

Al gave me a once-over, seeming to realize that I must be cold with my lack of sleeves, bare legs, and large neckline, and turned to Ed. "We can't go back, can we, Brother?"

"No," Ed shook his head. "We have to wait until we get to Resembool. I hate to put off the job even more, but she needs a coat, so I guess we'll take a few more minutes out of our time." He looked me in the eyes then, something strange gleaming in them. I shut mine, kind of afraid to ponder upon that look, and managed to mutter "Thanks" before I fell asleep.

"Lucy." I felt something shaking me. "Lucy, get up." Ed.

I mumbled something and swatted away the hand.

"Lucy, the train stopped. We're in Risembool."

"Go 'way," I huffed, turning the other way. Then I felt something different on my arms.

"Huh…?" I opened my eyes a crack to see my body covered in red. At first, I thought it was blood. Then I realized it was Ed's coat.

I sat up groggily, holding the coat closed at my throat. "I don't wanna get up," I said, stubborn old me.

Ed sighed. "The train is about to leave again. If you don't—"

"I got her," Al volunteered, bending down in front of me. He pulled my arms around his neck and hooked his hands under my knees, then stood up. I managed to stay on, and he turned back to smile at me. "You look really tired."

"Shaddup," I muttered, now awake enough to be my normal self.

I felt Al's shoulders shake a little bit with laughter. "Yes, ma'am," he chuckled.

"Hurry up or I'll leave without ya!" Ed yelled, and Al hurried to catch up with him.

As soon as we stepped off the train, I spotted a store. "There's one," I muttered, pointing to the clothing shop.

"I see it," Ed said. "We should hurry up and get you that jacket so I can have my coat back."

I chuckled a little. "Yeah. Not because I'm cold or anything, just so _you_ can have your cloak."

Ed rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's just go in."

Al carried me around to look at the stuff for a few minutes. When I was awake enough, I told him to let me down. "Man, it takes you forever to wake up," he grunted, setting me down on the ground.

"Well, I would have gotten a drug test or something if I started trying to walk right after I woke up," I shot back, going through the racks. Sure, I'd only asked for a jacket, but…maybe I needed a bit more. Some of the stuff they had there wasn't totally hideous.

Making sure to hide what I was wearing underneath Ed's coat, I found an exact replica of my jacket hanging on a rack outside the dressing room. Right next to it were a few items that caught my eye. I grabbed the jacket, making sure they were hidden beneath it, and ran into the dressing room.

Inside the room, I looked around to make sure nobody else was there and then quickly stuffed the other items into a pocket; a handful of silver earrings, a couple of bracelets, and a thick black leather choker. I removed the price tags, then put on the jacket, making sure to keep the price tag showing. I zipped it up, then walked out of the room.

"I want this jacket," I told the clerk, holding out my arm. "I want to wear it out 'cuz I'm cold, so just scan my arm and I'll be good to go." The woman gave me a look, but decided not to mess with me and just scanned the tag while I wore the jacket. She nodded and I smiled at her, then walked out of the store, handing Ed his own cloak as we exited.

When we were a mile or so away from the store, I looked around for cops, then unzipped my jacket, revealing the choker, and shook the bracelets out from their hiding place inside the sleeves.

Ed and Al gaped at me. "You weren't wearing all that earlier!" Ed gasped.

"I know," I giggled. "You remember that I told you I like to steal stuff? Well, I also didn't like walking around without much ewelry on. It made me feel too…simple. So I jacked these bracelets and stuff from that store back there. I also stole these." I held out my hand to show them a few sets of earrings.

"Besides," I shrugged, "that store wasn't cheap. It would have cost less to take a train back and get my old jacket then take another train here again than it would to pay for all this stuff." I inspected the silver charm bracelet on my right wrist. It only had one different charm, a music note, but it had quite a few of them. I took an immediate liking to it and began to check out the twisted-together one and black leather studded one on my left wrist.

"But we've got plenty of money," Al protested. "Why?"

"Stealing's just a habit of mine. I've been doing it since I was eleven." Then I glanced at them. "I'll tell you _that_ story when you explain to _me_ what you meant about your bodies." Then I yawned, still tired. "Can we hurry up and find these guys? I wanna take a nap."

Ed and Al stared at each other. They tended to do that a lot around me. "Uh, sure?" Ed said almost uncertainly. I knew I had just made him extremely curious about my past.

I thought over what he knew about me. They knew I didn't have parents. They knew the military wanted me to join them. They knew I'd been stealing things since I was eleven. They knew I was obviously not a great fan of Mustang. And they probably knew from my little talk with Mustang that my parents had been State Alchemists, and maybe even that I could use lightning from the name Mustang called me. There wasn't that much left to tell, but there was enough missing to torment them.

And I knew even less about them. So they were State Alchemists. They didn't like Mustang, either—or at least Edward didn't. They kept saying something about their 'old bodies' or something. And they seemed to really know how to take care of someone, even though we'd never met before. I was sure that they couldn't be more curious about me than I was about them. There was _definitely_ enough missing to torment me.

"Hey, Lucy!" Ed yelled. I started and realized that they had already started walking off.

"Sorry!" I called, running toward them. "I was caught up in my thoughts."

"Well, stop thinking so much," Ed snapped. "We're never gonna find these jerks if you keep spacing out, and I'm _not_ carrying you again."

"I don't want either of you to carry me," I retorted. "And anywho, I'm perfectly awake now. So we can get going."

"Finally."

I smacked him upside the head. "Shut up, you undergrown jerk!"

"Undergrown? Why, you—" He shoved me, screaming a stream of words that sounded something like "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT IT WOULD TAKE HIM AN HOUR TO GET TO THE BATHROOM AND BY THE TIME HE'S THERE HE DOESN'T HAVE TO GO ANYMORE AND BY THE TIME HE GETS BACK ACROSS THE ROOM HE HAS TO GO AGAIN AND IT KEEPS REPEATING ITSELF?"

"You're the main ingredient in a shrimp cocktail!" I shot back. Okay, maybe our little talk about 'destiny' the other day had come too soon….

"DON'T CALL ME SMALL! I'LL BREAK DOWN YOUR FEET AND STICK THEM ON YOUR HEAD!" He obviously hadn't yet realized that I was even shorter than he was.

"Brother!" Al grabbed Ed's arms from behind. "Stop it! And Lucy, please don't antagonize him. He's obviously sensitive about his size."

"I'M NOT A SHRIMP!" Ed roared, this time directing the comment toward Al.

"Wow." I stared at Ed mockingly. "You're shorter than your temper."

"If you call me short _one more time_, I swear I will hit you on the head so hard you'll be my size!"

Yep. Our talk was _definitely_ way too early.


End file.
